U.S. patent application number 10/622312 was filed with the patent office on 2004-05-06 for making a composite insulator body.
This patent application is currently assigned to SEDIVER, SOCIETE EUROPEENNE D'ISOLATEURS EN VERRE ET COMPOSITE. Invention is credited to Rene, Joulie, Roger, Levillain.
Application Number | 20040084204 10/622312 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29763915 |
Filed Date | 2004-05-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040084204 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Roger, Levillain ; et
al. |
May 6, 2004 |
Making a composite insulator body
Abstract
The method of manufacturing a composite insulator constituted by
a rod surrounded by an insulating coating and provided at its two
ends with two metal end fittings respectively consists in the
following steps: fixing two respective metal interfaces to the two
ends of the rod, the metal end fittings of the insulator
subsequently being fixed to the interfaces; and putting the coating
into place around the rod and around the metal interfaces while
leaving an end portion of each metal interface uncovered by the
coating so as to enable the metal end fittings to be fixed thereto
subsequently.
Inventors: |
Roger, Levillain;
(Saint-Yorre, FR) ; Rene, Joulie; (Bellerive Sur
Allier, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ware, Fressola, Van Der Sluys & Adolphson LLP
Bradford Green, Building Five
755 Main Street
PO Box 224
Monroe
CT
06468
US
|
Assignee: |
SEDIVER, SOCIETE EUROPEENNE
D'ISOLATEURS EN VERRE ET COMPOSITE
|
Family ID: |
29763915 |
Appl. No.: |
10/622312 |
Filed: |
July 17, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
174/137R |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01B 19/00 20130101;
Y10T 29/49227 20150115; H01B 17/325 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
174/137.00R |
International
Class: |
H01B 017/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 18, 2002 |
FR |
02 09153 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1/ A method of manufacturing a composite insulator constituted by a
rod surrounded by an insulating coating and provided at its two
ends with two metal end fittings respectively, the method
consisting in the following steps: fixing two respective metal
interfaces to the two ends of the rod, the metal end fittings of
the insulator subsequently being fixed to the interfaces; and
putting the coating into place around the rod and around the metal
interfaces while leaving an end portion of each metal interface
uncovered by the coating so as to enable the metal end fittings to
be fixed thereto subsequently.
2/ A method according to claim 1, in which the coating is put into
place by injection molding.
3/ A method according to claim 1, in which each metal interface is
fixed to an end of the rod by a swaging technique.
4/ A method according to claim 1, in which each metal end fitting
is fixed to a metal interface by a swaging technique with the help
of a worksite press.
5/ A composite insulator for medium voltage distribution
manufactured by a method according to claim 1, in which each metal
interface is a tube.
6/ A composite insulator according to claim 5, in which the tube
has an internal transverse wall providing a sealed separation
between the rod and a metal end fitting.
7/ An insulator according to claim 6, in which the internal wall is
a metal web.
8/ An insulator according to claim 6, in which the internal wall is
a separate fitting.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a method of making a composite
insulator for medium voltage distribution, the insulator comprising
a rod surrounded by an insulating coating and provided at its two
ends with two metal end fittings, respectively.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A composite insulator of this type is described, for
example, in French patent application No. 2 514 546. That patent
application teaches making the connection between the rod and a
metal end fitting of the insulator by using a ductile tube,
assembly being performed by sleeve coupling.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The object of the invention is to provide a method of
manufacturing such an insulator at lower cost by standardizing the
manufacture of the insulator body.
[0004] The method of the invention consists in the following
steps:
[0005] fixing two respective metal interfaces (3; 13) to the two
ends of the rod, the metal end fittings of the insulator
subsequently being fixed to the interfaces; and
[0006] putting the coating into place around the rod and around the
metal interfaces while leaving an end portion of each metal
interface uncovered by the coating so as to enable the metal end
fittings to be fixed thereto subsequently.
[0007] With this method, it is possible to mass produce standard
insulator bodies having the same dimensions without their end
fittings, which end fittings can be put into place subsequently
immediately prior to delivering the insulators to the customer or
the worksite. The fact that the end fittings are not fixed to the
composite insulator body while the insulating coating is being put
into place means that a larger number of insulator bodies can be
put into the same mold for putting the coating into place, thereby
enabling economies of scale to be achieved and reducing the unit
price of manufacturing an insulator.
[0008] The invention extends to the following features of the
method and to an insulator made by the method:
[0009] the coating is put into place by injection molding;
[0010] each metal interface is fixed to an end of the rod by a
swaging technique;
[0011] each metal end fitting is fixed to a metal interface by a
swaging technique with the help of a worksite press;
[0012] each metal interface is a tube;
[0013] the tube has an internal transverse wall providing a sealed
separation between the rod and a metal end fitting;
[0014] the internal wall is a metal web; and
[0015] the internal wall is a separate fitting.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0016] Embodiments of a composite insulator of the invention are
described below and shown in the figures.
[0017] FIG. 1 shows a portion of a composite insulator provided
with a metal end fitting whose outside portion is in the form of a
knob.
[0018] FIG. 2 shows a portion of a composite insulator provided
with a metal end fitting whose outside portion is terminated by a
clevis.
MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] In FIG. 1, there can be seen a metal interface 3, in this
case a ductile metal tube, which is sleeve coupled by a swaging
technique to one end of the rod 2 of an insulator. The rod is made
of a synthetic material, for example out of glass fibers and
resin.
[0020] A coating 6 is placed around the rod 2 and around the
interface 3, while nevertheless leaving an end portion of the
interface 3 uncovered by the coating. This not covered or bared end
portion of the interface can be used after the insulator body has
been made for fixing an endpiece to the interface. In FIG. 1, the
forged steel metal endpiece 1 is terminated by a knob 4, which
endpiece is inserted into the tube 3 and is then fixed thereto by a
swaging technique. In order to obtain leaktightness for the rod
portion, the tube 3 includes an inside transverse separating wall 5
which may be a metal web obtained by molding or by machining, or
which may be a silicone seal, e.g. fitted inside the tube. The
inside diameters of the two end portions of the tube 3 may be
identical or different. When the diameters are identical, it is
possible to use a standard commercially-available tube, thereby
further reducing the cost of manufacturing the insulator.
[0021] The metal end fitting of the insulator may be a clevis, a
tenon, a ball-socket, etc., without going beyond the ambit of the
invention. The fact that the insulator body is standardized without
being provided with end fittings while the insulating coating is
being put into place enables mass production to be performed at
reduced cost, given that medium voltage distribution insulators
differ from one another in general only in the particular features
of their metal end fittings.
[0022] FIG. 2 shows a rod 12 having a tube 13 fixed to the end
thereof, the tube serving as an interface for an end fitting 11
that is terminated by a clevis 14. An insulating coating surrounds
the rod 12 and a portion of the tube 13. The tube has an internal
wall 15 fitted thereto, in this case a silicone plug.
[0023] In order to manufacture the insulator of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, a
metal interface such as 3 or 13 is initially fitted to each end of
a rod such as 2 or 12, e.g. by a swaging technique using a press.
The rod is then placed in a mold that is suitable for putting an
insulating coating into place around the rod and the interfaces,
e.g. an elastomer, while ensuring that an end portion of each
interface remains uncovered by the coating. As can be seen in the
figures, the tubes 3 and 13 have respective end portions that are
not covered by the coating and which extend substantially as far as
the transverse wall 5, 15 thus making it possible to perform
swaging on the bare portion using a worksite press, for example,
for the purpose of securing the end fitting 1 or 11.
[0024] Naturally, the interface 3 or 13 could be of a shape other
than that of a tube, providing its bare end portion and the metal
end fitting are of complementary shapes suitable for being fixed
together mutually.
* * * * *